Mouse

If your pointer moves too fast or slow when you move your mouse or use your touchpad, you can adjust the pointer speed for these devices.

You can set different pointer speed for each type of device. For example, you can have one scroll speed for a laptop touchpad and another for a mouse. Sometimes the most comfortable settings for one type of device are not the best for another.

Double-clicking only happens when you press the mouse button twice quickly enough. If the second press is too long after the first, you’ll just get two separate clicks, not a double click. If you have difficulty pressing the mouse button quickly, you should increase the timeout.

If your mouse double-clicks when you want it to single-click even though you have increased the double-click timeout, your mouse may be faulty. Try plugging a different mouse into your computer and see if that works properly. Alternatively, plug your mouse into a different computer and see if it still has the same problem.

You can click, double-click, drag, and scroll using only your touchpad, without separate hardware buttons.

To explore touchpad settings:

1. Open the Application Menu and click on Settings.

2. Click on Devices and then click on Mouse & Touchpad to open the panel.

3. Change settings to your preferences.

You can right-click by holding down the left mouse button. This is useful if you find it difficult to move your fingers individually on one hand, or if your pointing device only has a single button.

You can change how long you must hold down the left mouse button before it is registered as a right click by changing the Acceptance delay.

To right-click with simulated secondary click, hold down the left mouse button where you would normally right-click, then release. The pointer fills with a different color as you hold down the left mouse button. Once it will change this color entirely, release the mouse button to right-click.

Some special pointers, such as the resize pointers, do not change colors. You can still use simulated secondary click as normal, even if you do not get visual feedback from the pointer.

If you use Mouse Keys, this also allows you to right-click by holding down the 5 key on your keypad.

You can click or drag simply by hovering your mouse pointer over a control or object on the screen. This is useful if you find it difficult to move the mouse and click at the same time. This feature is called Hover Click or Dwell Click.

When Hover Click is enabled, you can move your mouse pointer over a control, let go of the mouse, and then wait for a while before the button will be clicked for you.

The Hover Click window will open, and will stay above all of your other windows. You can use this to choose what sort of click should happen when you hover. For example, if you select Secondary Click, you will right-click when you hover. After you double-click, right-click, or drag, you will be automatically returned to clicking.

When you hover your mouse pointer over a button and do not move it, it will gradually change color. When it has fully changed color, the button will be clicked.

Adjust the Delay setting to change how long you have to hold the mouse pointer still before clicking.

You do not need to hold the mouse perfectly still when hovering to click. The pointer is allowed to move a little bit and will still click after a while. If it moves too much, however, the click will not happen.

Adjust the Motion threshold setting to change how much the pointer can move and still be considered to be hovering.

You can swap the behavior of the left and right buttons on your mouse or touchpad to make it more comfortable for left-handed use.

If you have difficulties using a mouse or other pointing device, you can control the mouse pointer using the numeric keypad on your keyboard. This feature is called mouse keys.

The keypad is a set of numerical buttons on your keyboard, usually arranged into a square grid. If you have a keyboard without a keypad (such as a laptop keyboard), you may need to hold down the function (Fn) key and use certain other keys on your keyboard as a keypad. If you use this feature often on a laptop, you can purchase external USB or Bluetooth numeric keypads.

Each number on the keypad corresponds to a direction. For example, pressing 8 will move the pointer upwards and pressing 2 will move it downwards. Press the 5 key to click once with the mouse, or quickly press it twice to double-click.

Most keyboards have a special key which allows you to right-click, sometimes called the Menu key. Note, however, that this key responds to where your keyboard focus is, not where your mouse pointer is. See Simulate a right mouse click for information on how to right-click by holding down 5 or the left mouse button.

If you want to use the keypad to type numbers while mouse keys is enabled, turn Num Lock on. The mouse cannot be controlled with the keypad when Num Lock is turned on, though.